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Press: Lots of new Press for 2006!
* Advertising in CROQ, the zine by and for crafters (and I am a writer / idea generator..) Buy it at http://www.croq.etsy.com
*Advertsing in Fall and Winter 06 issues of Herbivore, the magazine about vegetarian culture and lifestyle . Check it out!
* Crafty Scientist was an August 'Funky Find" on the blog (http://www.funkyfinds.blogspot.com)
*Pulse Magazine did a feature on The Crafty Scientist for their August 'up and coming' section--check it out!
The Crafty Scientist
By Cherie Ronayne
Meet Dayna Mankowski, creative genius behind the Crafty Scientist Experimental Design Lab ~ a unique (mostly on-line) crafts business that sells a variety of way cool items inspired by true scientific experiments and a genuine need for useful items at http://www.craftyscientist.com/. With something for everyone (including your pets!), you’ll find a variety of stuff from trendy, colorful pillows to yummy smelling beaker candles.
A self-professed insomniac, Dayna puts her night-time awake hours to good use and now considers herself a full-time nocturnal crafter. During the day, she poses as a mild mannered, part-time pharmacist and part-time biomedical researcher ~ hence the true science behind the craft “experiments” like “Failed Experiment Earrings,” born from an actual lab test called Western Blotting. Her pets (Isaac and kitty Sheba) are a constant source of inspiration for her animal products, with Sheba providing “…the invaluable ‘beta testing’ for all Crafty Scientist cat toys and mats. If Sheba (aka Inspector 12) doesn’t approve it, it isn’t good enough for your cat!!” Crafty Scientist is also happy to accommodate custom orders, so don’t miss an opportunity to have Dayna craft something completely unique out of idea or image that’s been rolling around in your head for a while.
Check out Dayna’s super-cool, smart and useful stuff on-line or visit her at Artbeat Street Festival, Davis Square, Somerville (July 14, 15, 16), the Lowell Folk Festival (July 29-30th), and Worcester’s own STart on the Street (Sept 17th). And even more exciting, Dayna and two fellow crafters from Artisan Women of Worcester (AWW) ~ one of the three craft businesses in which Dayna is involved ~ are flying to LA to film a DIY network show entitled ‘Uncommon Threads.” Watch for it on the DIY network (M, W, F at 10:30 am.) ~ the Crafty Scientist is taking off and that way you’ll be able to say, “I knew them when…”
The Crafty Scientist also has a philanthropic mission, so you can spend your money guilt-free. This calendar year, 10% of all sales (except cat toys and mats) will go to the Couture Fund for the Children, and 100% of all proceeds from cat and dog toys and treats will go to local animal rescue/shelter organizations. $2.00 of each Cat Mat will go to Cause for Paws.
Dayna considers herself lucky to have day jobs that help support her beloved crafting business. Her motto is: “If I don’t need it/want it/love it, I don’t make it.”
The Crafty Scientist gets letters! I appreciate all of them--they are what keep me going into the wee hours of the morning, creating new things...
"Hello Crafty Scientist, I was just wanting to e-mail you to thank you very dearly for what you did for my girl friend. She had found The "Archer" Messenger Bag on your site and was so bummed to find out that it was out of stock and yet she e-mailed you and you went out of your way to make her one. She just received it yesterday and was so thrilled. It was beautifuly done. Thanks again" Trey, TN
Cat Mats are Life Savers! Here is a letter and follow up from a customer who purchased a mat for a friend who was moving with their skittish cat, named Jazzy... "Today was the move......Jazzy the cat was really stressed. She would not come out from under the couch in her new home. Don put your mat down.....the cat came our almost immediately and rolled and rolled. Your mat made Jazzy's Day!!" And..."Jazzy's first night in her new house.....she dragged her blanket up onto the bed to sleep with her Dad.....".
" I bought a cat mat from you at the Handmade Arcade funky crafts fair in Pittsburgh this past October. My little and mostly chill cat, Moment, licked it feverishly for over an hour and then curled up on it for an all-nighter of blissful rest (you could call her name, as sing-songy as possible as well as offer treats, and her ear-radars wouldn't betray one iota of interest). Total Success! She still loves it! In celebration of the winter holidays, I have decided to buy all of my family members who have cats, cat mats and your cat toys. Thank you for your creative crafts and love of our feline friends. Your work, and the joy and skill you so obviously imbue in every stitch of it is deeply appreciated " -Molly, Pittsburgh, PA
From The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:
Handmade Arcade is not your mother's crafts show
By Michael Agostino
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, November 9, 2005
That's the idea behind the indie craft fair Handmade Arcade, scheduled for Saturday at Construction Junction in Point Breeze. More than 60 vendors will sell handmade crafts made from unusual materials -- from vintage fabrics to found items, X-ray film to grocery bags.
An estimated 1,000 people attended the first Handmade Arcade last year, spokeswoman Elizabeth Clare Prince says. This year, organizers spent nine hours looking through pictures of vendors' crafts to narrow down a pool of almost 140 applications.
One of the vendors to make the cut was Amber Cherry, 30, of Oakmont.
Cherry and her friend Tracey Holzshu create stuffed monsters called "stuffies" as part of their crafts business Friend or Foe. The "stuffies," which were developed two years ago for a Halloween art show, range from Beanie Baby-sized creatures to ones as large as a pillow, but feature vintage fabrics and monstrous designs that cannot be found on a Hallmark shelf.
"Going to the Handmade Arcade gives us the inspiration to keep doing what we do," Cherry says. "You get to see the large community of people who are out there making these crafts, and the feeling there is great."
But for member and owner of Crafty Scientist Dayna Mankowski, creating "Failed Experiment" earrings out of X-ray film and sewing together lightweight, waterproof messenger bags out of strips of plastic grocery bags isn't a career. It's a night-time hobby.
"I craft every evening from 9 p.m. to about 1 or 2 a.m.," says Mankowski, a biomedical researcher and part-time pharmacist. "It's definitely a release."
Handmade Arcade founder Gloria Forouzan, of Lawrenceville, also uses crafting as an escape from her day job as a principal of Percolater, Inc. -- a community and political consulting firm -- and says that the community of friends she found doing the same thing during the evenings led to the craft fair.
"Handmade Arcade supports local craftspeople, and people have been starving for something like this in Pittsburgh," says Forouzan, 51. "We all need something authentic."